as PolandÆs President in the 2005 election. The national government structure also includes a council of ministers headed by Prime Minister Marek Belka, who is responsible to the Parliament. The council of ministers also includes a deputy prime minister and minister for social policy, Izabela Jaruga-Nowacka. There are twelve members of government known as ôkey ministers,ö in roles similar to cabinet officials in the U.S. government (Owens and Katzman 4). The following represent each of the key ministers and their role in PolandÆs government:
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Another key position in the executive branch is held by central bank president, Leszek Balcerowicz.
PolandÆs legislative branch is similar to the U.S. Congress in a number of ways. The bicameral national legislature embodies an upper house (Senate) and a lower house (Sejm), with 100 and 460 members respectively (Own and Katzman 4). Members of both the Sejm and Senate are elected to four-year terms, with Senators elected by a majority vote and members of the Sejm elected by proportional representation. The political structure of contemporary Poland also includes an electoral system that permits universal direct suffrage for all citizens over the age of 18. The most recent parliamentary and presidential elections occurred in September and October, 2005, respectively. On the rare occasions when the two houses meet at the same time, the national legislature is known as the ôNational Assemblyö (Poland 6). Ethnic minority parties are granted two seats only in the Sejm. In 1992, an interim ôsmall constitutionö came into effect that represented the first non-communist constitution for Poland in four decades (Political 13). The interim or ôsmall constitutionö was replaced on April 2, 1997, when the National Assembly adopted a new democratic constitution that passed by popular referendum on May 25, 1997 (Political 13).
The new Constit...